U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar has agreed to accept a Cabinet appointment as President-elect Barack Obama’s interior secretary pending the outcome of a background check, multiple sources told The Denver Post on Monday.

Democratic sources who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak on Salazar’s behalf said that the first-term senator interviewed for the position last week and is all but certain to be appointed to Obama’s Cabinet.

Speaking to the media in Chicago on Monday, Obama said he would name the interior secretary this week.

Salazar’s pending selection was revealed on the same day Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet learned that he would not be offered the job of education secretary. Also Monday, sources close to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said he is among several candidates to be transportation secretary.

Salazar met with members of Obama’s transition team in Chicago at the end of last week to discuss a possible appointment, sources close to the transition team said. The position has not been formally offered, but no other candidates are known to be undergoing the requisite background checks, and multiple sources said Salazar has signaled his willingness to give up his Senate seat for the job.

Reached on Monday, Salazar would say only, “No comment,” and referred questions to his spokesman, who also declined to answer questions.

If Salazar is confirmed for the post, Gov. Bill Ritter, a fellow Democrat, would name his replacement. Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said the governor “will move as quickly as possible” to make that move once Salazar’s appointment is formally announced.

That prospect has set off a scramble among Democrats eager to fill out the remainder of Salazar’s term, which runs through 2010.

Names floated as possible successors include Hickenlooper, U.S. Rep. John Salazar of Manassa, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Golden, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver, former U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland, outgoing state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and Bennet.

Hickenlooper, serving his second term as mayor, is considered a business-savvy Democrat. He declined to say whether he would be interested in filling Ken Salazar’s shoes.

“There are a lot of possibilities out there, and rather than engaging in endless speculation, I choose to stay focused on running the city,” he said in a statement.

Strickland, executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, was the Democratic nominee for Senate in 1996 and 2002. He lost both times to now-retiring U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard.

However, Colorado has changed in the past few years as voters have aligned themselves more and more with Democrats.

Strickland would say Monday only that he would “wait and see how things turned out” before discussing any possible interest in the vacancy.

“At this point, the rumors about Ken Salazar aren’t confirmed,” he said. “But he has been an outstanding senator and would be an outstanding interior secretary.”

Steve Welchert, a Democratic consultant in Denver, said Ritter must appoint someone who can win a statewide race in 2010.

He cited Perlmutter, with whom he has worked, and Hickenlooper as politicians with “the fundraising capacity and the vote-getting appeal.”

He said Perlmutter’s suburban district positions him to run well in conservative areas of the state. Meanwhile, Hickenlooper has grown so popular that many of those living in the Denver suburbs think of him as their mayor, too, Welchert said.

He added that John Salazar, who holds the 3rd Congressional District seat, might not want to give up the powerful role he recently gained when he was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee, which sets federal funding priorities.

“Who is more powerful?” Welchert asked. “A member of the House Appropriations or a freshman senator? It’s not even close. Appropriations.”

John Salazar’s office did not return telephone messages seeking comment.

He had previously been suggested as a possible pick for secretary of agriculture and said he had not ruled that job out.

Already, those close to some of those in the running for the appointment were talking up their preferred candidates.

DeGette has received calls from people encouraging her to seek the Senate seat should it become vacant, said her spokesman, Kristofer Eisenla.

“This would be a pleasant surprise if Sen. Salazar is selected,” he said. “She thinks he is a friend and colleague, and having a strong Western voice like Sen. Salazar in the Interior Department would be great. Right now, she’s waiting for official confirmation from the Obama transition team and Sen. Salazar.”

Romanoff said he would be interested.

“I’m looking for a way to make a contribution to the state,” said Romanoff, who is being forced out of the statehouse by term limits. The Denver Democrat also is a finalist to replace Republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman, who was elected to Congress last month.

Members of Perlmutter’s camp said they’d be shocked if he didn’t make the governor’s list of potential appointees and believed that the congressman, who was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second term this year, would be interested.

Ken Salazar was an energetic campaigner for Obama in Colorado, helping to deliver a vital swing state that has long sided with Republicans.

He is a former director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, where he wrote the Great Outdoors Colorado Amendment that used lottery proceeds for land conservation. He also was Colorado’s former attorney general. He is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Salazar would be the second Coloradan to become interior secretary this decade. Gale Norton served that role from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. She received criticism from environmentalists and praise from industry interests.

Environmentalists ranged from cautiously optimistic to outright enthusiastic Monday at the prospect that Salazar would end up as interior secretary.

“Ken knows the West and Western issues, particularly natural-resource issues,” said Elise Jones, executive director of the Colorado Environmental Coalition. “One thing you can count on is that the state of Colorado will be listened to and consulted, which will be a welcomed change.”

Noah Greenwald, director of biodiversity programs at the Center for Biological Diversity, said that while he was “cautiously optimistic,” he was concerned that Salazar did not have much of a record regarding science issues that would arise at the Interior Department.

But Harris Sherman, current director of Colorado’s Department of Natural Resources, praised the pick.

“There is no better person in the nation to step into the position of interior secretary,” Sherman said in a written statement. “He will bring the needed balance, experience and judgment to our nation’s natural-resource programs during these pivotal times. This is great for the West and the entire country.”

Christopher N. Osher is a reporter on the investigation team at The Denver Post who has covered law enforcement, judicial and regulatory issues for the news organization. He also has reported from war zones in Africa.

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